On cover: Integration of people with disabilities

Despite the progress made in the social rights field in Europe, many fundamental social rights are still not fully accessible to people with disabilities. This report examines key measures and identifies obstacles to full participation, particularly in the areas of education, vocational training and employment, the built environment and transport, information and communication, healthcare and social protection. It provides examples of good practice and makes cross-sectoral recommendations for integrated policy actions.

This publication contains the proceedings of a Council of Europe conference, held in Strasbourg in November 2004, which reviewed current Council of Europe instruments designed to promote and protect the rights of people with disabilities. It focuses on the right of children with disabilities to grow up within a family and in a community context, and the need to end the institutionalisation of children with disabilities.

Disability is not just the physical, sensory or intellectual impairments a person has, but the exclusion from society they face as a result. Organisations for disabled people are a growing voice in challenging this exclusion and anti-discrimination legislation is helping to change the structures in society that have contributed to it. This book examines the discipline of psychology in this regard. It argues that psychology has tended to ignore the socio-cultural aspects of disability and treat disabled people as objects rather than arbiters of psychological intervention. Bringing together disabled and non-disabled researchers and psychologists, this book proposes ideas for an enabling psychological theory and practice, and addresses questions such as: -"How can we support the inclusion of disabled children?" - "Can therapy enable rather than pathologise?” - "What can be learnt from the experience of disabled psychologists?" "How can psychology contribute to social models of disability?” In examining these issues, this volume challenges the reader to reconsider the relationship between disability studies and psychology and to do so in ways that contribute to the emancipation - rather than the exclusion - of disabled people. A key text for students on relevant courses within disability studies and psychology degrees, this book is also an important resource for those who study or work in the areas of healthcare studies, nursing, sociology and social work. Dan Goodley is a Reader in disability studies, University of Sheffield, with research interests in disability theory, activism and methodology. Rebecca Lawthom is Principal Lecturer in psychology, Manchester Metropolitan University and a member of the Research Institute for Health and Social Change. Her research interests are in disability, community and feminist psychology.

This is the comprehensively-revised second edition of a volume that was welcomed at its first appearance as 'the most authoritative survey and critique of the welfare state yet published'. Its fifty-one chapters have been written by acknowledged experts in the field from across Europe, Australia, and North America. Some chapters are brand new; all have been systematically revised, and they are right up to date. The first seven sections of the book cover the themes of Ethics, History, Approaches, Inputs and Actors, Policies, Policy Outcomes, and Worlds of Welfare. A final chapter is devoted to the future of welfare and well-being under the imperatives of climate change. Every chapter is written in a way that is both comprehensive and succinct, introducing the novice reader to the essentials of what is going on while providing new insights for the more experienced researcher. Wherever appropriate, the handbook brings the very latest empirical evidence to bear. It is a book that is thoroughly comparative in every way. The Oxford Handbook of the Welfare State, second edition, is a comprehensible and comprehensive survey of everything that it is important to know about the welfare state in these troubled times. It is an indispensable source for everyone who wants to know what is really going on now, and what is likely to happen next.

Social isolation and loneliness are serious yet underappreciated public health risks that affect a significant portion of the older adult population. Approximately one-quarter of community-dwelling Americans aged 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated, and a significant proportion of adults in the United States report feeling lonely. People who are 50 years of age or older are more likely to experience many of the risk factors that can cause or exacerbate social isolation or loneliness, such as living alone, the loss of family or friends, chronic illness, and sensory impairments. Over a life course, social isolation and loneliness may be episodic or chronic, depending upon an individual's circumstances and perceptions. A substantial body of evidence demonstrates that social isolation presents a major risk for premature mortality, comparable to other risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, or obesity. As older adults are particularly high-volume and high-frequency users of the health care system, there is an opportunity for health care professionals to identify, prevent, and mitigate the adverse health impacts of social isolation and loneliness in older adults. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults summarizes the evidence base and explores how social isolation and loneliness affect health and quality of life in adults aged 50 and older, particularly among low income, underserved, and vulnerable populations. This report makes recommendations specifically for clinical settings of health care to identify those who suffer the resultant negative health impacts of social isolation and loneliness and target interventions to improve their social conditions. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults considers clinical tools and methodologies, better education and training for the health care workforce, and dissemination and implementation that will be important for translating research into practice, especially as the evidence base for effective interventions continues to flourish.